The present invention relates generally to mail processing, and more particularly to a method, system, and program product for processing business mail that is returned to the sender due to an inaccurate or expired address for the intended recipient.
Many businesses mail thousands or even millions of pieces of mail each month to customers, clients, and prospects. Such businesses include, for example, insurance companies, mortgage and finance companies, bulk mail advertisers, and credit card companies. Inevitably, a certain percentage of the items that are mailed each month by these businesses are returned to the sender, usually because the intended recipient has moved without notice or otherwise is no longer at the address to which the mail was sent. Other causes, such as incomplete addresses and local changes in addresses of residences in an area also may result in returned mail. Intended recipients also can change their names through marriage or otherwise, which also can result in returned mail.
The processing of mail that is returned to sender historically has been a time-consuming labor-intensive process for high volume mail users. It is not uncommon for such high volume users to retain a staff of several employees whose job it is to receive the returned mail, manually research the reasons for the unsuccessful delivery, obtain, where possible, the correct addressing information for the intended recipient, and oversee a second mailing to the corrected address. Even with the availability of address updating services to aid in researching for the correct address, the process is substantially a manual one subject to human error and delays. Furthermore, the cost of maintaining a staff to handle returned mail, to update company address databases, and the postage expense that is incurred before the mail actually reaches the intended recipient is substantial. Finally, human error is always an issue with such manual systems.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved method of processing returned mail that overcomes the historical problems with prior art manual handling and that does so quickly, more accurately, and at substantially less cost. It is to the provision of such a method and system that the present invention is primarily directed.
Successful performance of the invention as described herein depends upon the subscribers providing specification compliant mail for processing. In general terms this means that: (1) the physical properties (length, height, thickness, weight, etc.) of the mail to be processed conform to United States Postal Service (USPS) automation letter mail standards, modified to exclude post-cards and xe2x80x9cself-mailersxe2x80x9d and (2) the mail includes return address block information specially formatted as a two-dimensional barcode.
Subscribers provide the address of the return mail service provider in the return address block, which receives mail, returned as undeliverable by the USPS. The return mail provider service provider captures the data from the returned items and apply its special expertise in obtaining corrected address information. The return mail service provider then electronically transfers corrective data records to the subscriber.
In one exemplary embodiment, data including the identification of the addressee is encoded on each item of a subscriber""s mail to be delivered. Items of mail found to be undeliverable subsequent to mailing are received at a processing location where they are loaded onto a transport mechanism and then optically scanned. The optically scanned data is stored in a data file for further processing. The names and addresses of the intended recipients in the data file are then transmitted to a service bureau electronically for updated addresses. Upon receiving updated addresses, the new address data is delivered to the subscriber in electronic form for us in updating the subscriber""s customer address files.